Rebound Acne

1. Birth Control Detox – When a woman has been on birth control for a period of time and birth control is suddenly stopped, this event creates a major detox from the body receiving the synthetic hormones from your birth control. While the liver is most taxed by this, the skin also being a detox organ will be affected. There are many ways to lessen the effects of this and support your body.  For instance, increasing consumption of cruciferous vegetables, selenium rich foods like Brazil nuts, salmon, as well as herbs like Milk Thistle and Burdock Root. 

2. Starting New Birth Control – Some birth controls are high in androgenic activity and low in estrogen which can induce acne in some. Choosing a birth control low in androgenic activity can help acne prone individuals avoid the onset of acne. Your medical provider can help you choose one that fits this criteria and may be right for you. 

3. It May Be Time to Lower Your Actives – During the acne clearing process it is not uncommon for someone to have excessively oily skin when they start a regimen. This may require stronger active ingredients initially. As your acne becomes more manageable most find that their skin balances out. This may also mean the needs of your skin have changed. Continuing to use actives that are too high for your changing skin can possibly strip your skin and disrupt the skin's barrier, thus creating an environment for acne to re-form. Similarly, a change in weather or a move, for instance, to a drier climate may warrant re-evaluating your skin's needs.

4. Recent Antibiotic Usage – Have you been sick recently and prescribed a round of antibiotics? If so, it’s important to support your gut through probiotics to help reestablish healthy bacteria that gets wiped out when ridding the body of an illness by using antibiotics. Our skin is heavily connected to the overall health of our gut and poor gut health often manifests through various skin conditions like acne.

5. Complacency – Simply put, this is the most common reason rebound acne occurs. It’s important to understand that acne prone individuals will always be prone to acne. This means, using the products and lifestyle adjustments that got you clear need to continue. Many people become comfortable in their newly cleared skin and will start skipping steps of their routine, or consuming foods that were acne triggers for them in the past. Doing any of these things will almost certainly allow acne to form again. 

6. Newly Active Lifestyle – So you’ve started working out, that’s great! However, this also means your skin is likely sweating more, or in contact with more bacteria. Another factor is when a person begins doing HIIT (high intensity interval training) cortisol levels can spike a bit and create an uptick in sebaceous (oil) activity. Additionally, hot yoga, which can detoxify the body and release impurities through sweat and oil in the skin, can also trigger acne formation. Exercise overall is tremendously helpful but it’s important to know how to adjust your skincare needs to support this. Showering or washing your face immediately after a workout will be very helpful as will always using a fresh clean towel to wipe away sweat.

While rebound acne can be frustrating, seeking out help from your esthetician or acne specialist as soon as possible can help mitigate the severity of its return. Remember, the needs of our skin can change over time, it is common to need an occasional adjustment.

Thank you for reading!